New Delhi, Jun 30 (IANS): Cracking its whip against the hawala operators, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached properties of Aijaz Hussain Khawaja, who was arrested in 2006 with one bag containing 2.05 kilograms of RDX and Rs 49 lakh in a terror funding case.

The ED in a statement said that it has attached assets under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) worth Rs 7.32 lakh of Khawaja, a resident of Baramulla in Jammu & Kashmir in a terror funding case of 2006.

The ED said that it attached a portion of a residential flat in Delhi's Jangpura and balances in the bank account held by wife of accused Khawaja. The present market value of attached property is higher, it said. The ED said that during probe it was revealed that Khawaja was operating as a hawala operator for financing various terror related illegal activities in J&K.

"Out of such illegal hawala operation, he had generated proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 8.50 lakh during that period," it said, adding, "As a hawala operator he was in touch with Muktiar Ahmed Bhat alias Ahmed, a Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative in league with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelliegnece (IS) to undertake hawala transactions or dealings for various separatists and militant activities."

The ED said that the property was attached after identification of these assets in the form of house and bank balances. According to ED, in 2006, Khawaja was apprehended with one bag containing 2.05 kg of RDX and Rs 49 lakh in cash by Delhi Police's Special Cell.

Khawaja was convicted with sentence of imprisonment for a period of 7 years under section of Explosive Substances Act, 1908 along with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The seized amount was also confiscated by the trial court.